CHAPTER 32
Gauge kept Lena in bed through the rest of the day.
She felt terrible about tearing up his arms and shoulders with her sharp claws, but relaxed when he convinced her to let him drink some of her blood, which not only tasted delicious but helped him heal.
She took a small amount of blood from him, but when he tried to give her solid food, her system rejected it.
Only time would tell if she remained a blood drinker.
Lena walked out into the living room beside him, dressed in the black leather usually reserved for Hunters and their trackers.
Gauge didn’t care. He wanted the humans to be wary of his mate from the start.
He had to make adjustments in the back of the shirt for her wings.
If he were smart, he would leave Lena on the ship, but he suspected she would strongly object, and he found he didn’t want to be separated from her anyway.
With her out of sight, he knew he would struggle to stay focused on his assignment.
Gauge felt confident he could keep her safe no matter what they faced.
Jax and Teo would be with them, and also Samantha and Seraphym.
Lena’s uncle had refused to stay behind, not yet fully trusting Gauge to take care of his niece.
Gauge had no objections to the two serpents accompanying them.
Those in power on Earth already knew about serpent shifters.
They had caught and experimented on Aeson’s uncle years ago.
Who knew how many others they had caught who were never heard from again.
Seraphym had been warned of the dangers, but he chose to go with them anyway.
Samantha jumped up from the couch when they walked out of the bedroom, running over to hug Lena.
“It’s so good to see you, sweetie. You look good.
Really good. I’m almost jealous.” She stepped back, shaking her head as she lifted strands of heavy blonde hair.
“You look like me now,” she said, grinning. “Blonde suits your new look, Lena.”
“Thank you,” Lena said, glancing up at Gauge. “I feel good.”
Samantha chuckled. “I bet you do.” She took hold of Lena’s shoulder and turned her. “Wow, your wings are beautiful. Now I know I’m jealous. You got feathers. Do you think she can fly?” she asked Gauge.
“My guess would be yes, but time is short. The council is anxious to learn the fate of the Umi queen. We’ll need to wait until after we meet with the human authorities for Lena to try to fly.”
Samantha chewed nervously on her lower lip.
“And what about shifting forms?” She looked over her shoulder at Seraphym, frowning.
“I sure hope Lena doesn’t have to go through what I did to help me shift.
I gotta tell you, it wasn’t pleasant. They literally scared me to death by dropping me from high up in the sky.
Felt like jumping out of an airplane without a parachute.
Then when I did shift, it wasn’t exactly pleasant having Saeran exert his dominance over my serpent.
I was told it’s normal. They do it with all the young serpents when they first learn to shift, but it wasn’t fun.
” She chuckled. “Guess they gotta show us who’s top dog. ”
“Sam, you know it’s a matter of respect,” Seraphym said. “Young serpents tend to be full of themselves. Without a strong alpha to keep them in hand, they could get into serious trouble.”
Samantha snorted. “Yeah, okay, sweetie. If you say so.”
“Top dog?” Lena said, her expression confused. “I don’t understand.”
Samantha grinned at Lena. “Um, it means your dad had to prove he was alpha enough to control me. Make sure I knew he was the boss. Just between you and me, I think he enjoyed kicking my ass.” She grinned again.
“I guess I was a little full of myself. But seriously, I hope you don’t have to go through that.
Maybe Seraphym can help you. I’ve heard family members can sometimes help their young ones shift the first few times.
And you’re already used to having a top dog alpha around. I doubt you’ll fight it like I did.”
“She won’t need to deal with an alpha serpent,” Gauge said. “If the council won’t allow us to live on Laizahlia, we will remain here. We’ll either stay here with Raif and Haven’s pack, or go live with Aeson’s clan, if they’ll have us. Returning to Raiden is not an option.”
Seraphym growled, smoke curling out of his nostrils.
“Oh stop,” Samantha said, returning to her mate’s side.
“Your people can’t even accept me, Seraphym.
How do you think they’re gonna handle the alpha’s daughter mated to a vampire?
Besides, we can always come visit, you know.
” She shrugged, her lips quirked to the side.
“Though we might have to wait until Nicolai is king to get permission to travel off Raiden in one of their precious ships. If you’d drop the attitude a few notches, Gauge would probably be open to bringing Lena to Raiden for visits. ”
Seraphym sighed, putting his arm around his mate’s waist. “You are right, of course. My people will never accept Gauge. And they will be wary of Lena now that she has wings and horns of her own. She is better off here. Her parents will still be disappointed.”
“Thank you,” Samantha said, resting her head on Seraphym’s chest. “I know that wasn’t easy for you.
Saeran and Seta only want what’s best for Lena.
When they agreed to let her leave Raiden with Rafa and Aaliyah, I’m sure they knew there was a chance she might never return.
” When Seraphym remained silent, Samantha turned her attention back to Gauge.
“So what’s the plan, big guy? What’s our next move? ”
“As soon as Jax and Teo arrive, I’ll have us transported to an agreed upon spot to meet with the humans.” Gauge turned to Seraphym. “How tough are serpent scales? Can a hypodermic needle break through?”
“Not much can break through unless they get lucky and hit us on the underside of a wing. Lena has feathers. I’m not sure about those.”
“Lena will stay beside me. I’ll protect her with a shield.”
“What are you worried about, Gauge?” Samantha asked. “You think they have some type of drug they can use against us?”
“It’s a possibility we can’t afford to ignore.
Jax and Haven have firsthand experience with these drugs.
One was created to strip a Laizahlian of all their power.
It is only temporary, but it still places us in an extremely vulnerable position.
It gives the enemy time to permanently disable us.
Another recently developed drug places a block between a shifter and their beast. They are unable to shift to protect themselves.
I must assume it will work against serpents too.
We have developed an antidote for my kind, but it must be delivered within five minutes.
I’m sorry, but we don’t have an antidote for shifters yet.
Haven told me it took her several days to overcome its influence.
Even if they have access to it, the humans would be stupid to try to use one against us, but I still want you both to remain on guard. ”
Gauge turned toward the kitchen when he felt the buzz of energy that preceded a transport. He placed his hand on Lena’s back when she shivered.
Seconds later, the outline of Jax and Teo formed, their bodies quickly filling in.
Jax dropped his hand from Teo’s shoulder, having obviously blocked the tracker’s pain during transport.
They walked over to Gauge and handed him a small vial.
Gauge knew it was the antidote he’d been speaking of a few minutes earlier.
“Are the humans ready to meet with us?” Gauge asked Jax.
“Yes. We’ll be transported into a secure area outside their facility. It’s far enough away that we won’t need to worry about anyone seeing us. The area around their facility is well guarded.”
“We’re you able to speak with our people?”
“No, I was told we would be taken to them as soon as we arrived.”
“Do you believe the Umi queen and our Hunter are being held against their will?”
“No,” Jax replied, “though they may allow the humans to believe they are prisoners. We need to learn how communication with the council was severed. Neyvarre should have been able to reach the chairman no matter where they were being held.”
“Not necessarily. There are metals that can make telepathic communication difficult.”
Jax shrugged. “I suppose we’ll find out soon enough. Are we ready to go?”
Gauge looked down at Lena, waiting until she looked up before he said, “Are you sure you want to go? You would be safer here with Raif and Haven, or I can take you back to the ship.”
“No, Gauge. Where you go, I go.”
“Very well,” he replied, a part of him was relieved. “Samantha, if you step over here, I can block your pain too.”
Samantha didn’t hesitate to skip over. “You won’t get an argument from me, big guy. I don’t ever want to go through that again. I don’t know how you guys handle it. What the hell’s wrong with a shuttle, anyway?”
“Shuttles are too slow,” Gauge replied, though he suspected her question was rhetorical.
“Seraphym, I can block your pain too,” Jax said. “There is no reason for you to deal with it.”
When Seraphym looked uncertain, Samantha said, “Don’t let your pride get in the way, sweetheart.
We need to put up a strong front when we get to spook land.
Watching you puke your guts up isn’t going to help with that.
” When he still hesitated, Samantha sighed and walked back over to him.
“Okay, if you’re going to be stubborn, then I guess I can deal with it too. ”
“Sam,” Seraphym said, his tone exasperated.
“Ser,” she snapped back.
“Fine, I’ll allow the vampire to block my pain.”
“You’ll allow?” Samantha snorted, shaking her head. “Okie-dokie then. Let’s go.” She took hold of Seraphym’s hand and skipped back over to Jax. Teo took his place beside Gauge and Lena.
Gauge watched the two serpents, amused by their social dynamics. He knew Seraphym was considered an alpha in their clan, but he suspected it was his much smaller mate who was really in charge. She knew very well how to work him to get what she wanted.
Gauge nodded at Teo, who called for transport.
A few seconds later, he felt the burn begin as their bodies were broken down to pure energy.
He concentrated on blocking Teo and Lena’s pain.
While inside her mind, he checked for nervousness or fear but found only excitement.
She held total confidence in his ability to keep her safe. He only hoped he wouldn’t let her down.